West Hempfield Middle caring closet brings necessities to kids in need
Every Friday, Heather Gockel packs her silver Jeep full of toiletries and makes the short drive to West Hempfield Middle School.
There, she unloads her boxes and takes them to the gymnasium locker rooms, where she restocks shelves of what she has dubbed the caring closet — a place where students in need can grab items their families may not be able to afford.
Started this month, the closet is filled with lotion, shampoo, conditioner, body spray, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and feminine products.
“They feel like they can get in and there’s nobody paying attention to them and making fun of them for taking this stuff out,” said Gockel, 39, of Manor. “We did have a bunch of families already who have taken stuff and they’re utilizing it because they … don’t have that kind of money.”
According to Future Ready PA, just over 36% of students at the school are economically disadvantaged and about .3% are considered homeless. Throughout the entire district, about 31% of students are economically disadvantaged and .6% are considered homeless.
“You hear so many bad things every day — people are being bullied, kids are hurting themselves from bullies. It could take one (offensive) smell that the kids will make fun of and this will alleviate all of that hopefully,” she said. “That’s why we wanted to do it, and we just want to keep it growing.”
But for Gockel and her husband, Anthony, 45, and their three kids — Austin, 21, Dalton, 15 and Gracie, 10 — the project is personal.
About five years ago, the family was left with almost nothing — having lost their home and vehicles after Anthony’s triple bypass surgery.
“At 38, you don’t expect to go through a life-changing instance like that,” Gockel said. “And it is, it’s a sickness that just happens and you have no way to prepare for it, you have no way to save up for it. Because you don’t think it’s going to happen.
“And still to this day, we would choose my husband and my kid’s father every day over the house. You can live in a $400,000 house, but if there’s no love in that house it’s not a home. So we walked away (from our home and cars) and we struggled, hard core we struggled.”
After she worked as a bartender at the Irwin Moose Lodge during her husband’s recovery, the family was able to buy their home in Manor, where Gockel opened Vintage Salon and Spa. She said her husband once again has a steady job with benefits.
Now, it’s time for the Gockels to give back, she said.
“I like to do things to do it out of the kindness of our heart and to say we’ve been there, we understand,” Gockel said. “We know what it’s like to worry if there’s going to be a present under the tree or if there’s going to be school clothes in the closet this year. … We’re going to pay it forward as many times as we can and as long as we can.”
Caring closet
Gockel came across the idea for the caring closet while waiting to drop off Gracie at West Hempfield Elementary School one morning.
After seeing the idea pop up on social media, she immediately called the elementary school to see if it was a viable project, but was told students might not understand the extent of the closet. Instead, Gockel picked up the phone again and called the middle school, which jumped on board.
“I wasn’t taking no for an answer, so as soon as I hung up with the elementary school I called the middle school,” she said. “I was like, ‘I’m determined to get this’ because I shared it on Facebook and so many people were like, ‘We would love to help, we would donate.’ And it just blew up really fast.”
So far, Gockel has restocked the shelves and is looking for donations to keep the project going. Those interested can drop new supplies off at her salon, located at 101 Gregory Drive, or donate to a fundraiser on Facebook, which already has raised almost $400 that will be used to help purchase supplies.
West Hempfield Middle School Principal Deanna Mikesic said Gockel will refill the closet as supplies dwindle.
“It takes everybody else coming together as a community to make it work. It’s not just a one-man show. West Hempfield elementary is taking donations for the middle school and the middle school is utilizing it all,” she said. “It’s bring the community together, which is nice, and it’s helping our kids. There might be a day where my kid would need that and thankfully it’s there.”
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